On Monday after the close, US Silica announced that they will built a 4mmtpa plant “equidistant to the hearts of both the Delaware and Midland Basins.” We break down what you need to know and provide context on this announcement. There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the …

Last week, the US land rig count breached 900 (stands at 902). We are now at the level Halliburton famously pronounced “the new equilibrium” one year ago. We address what this means for completions, frac horsepower, and US oil production in this update. There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the …

Each Friday in June, we are passing the keyboard to one of our readers to share perspective from the field. This week, Ron Davis weighs on on a classic business conundrum in deepwater. The drilling contractors have, in an effort to downplay the daunting oversupply (and possibly drive down distressed …

A dramatic run up in the Saudi Arabian rig count preceded the OPEC November 2014 decision to become a price taker and defend market share. This of course triggered the biggest collapse in US drilling history. The decision to extend OPEC quotas in May was in fact predicted by just …

Mammoth Energy Services announced Thursday that it has signed a three-year take or pay deal to provide Wisconsin frac sand to an undisclosed pressure pumper. The contract contemplates annual volumes of 720,000 tons comprised of several different grades including 20/40, 30/50, and 40/70. We have thoughts on pricing relative to recent benchmarks, what …

Is frac sand replacing rigs? It would appear so in the US onshore recovery. As unconventional drilling and completion science evolves, the industry’s surface footprint per barrel of oil produced is shrinking. A growing sub-surface footprint (which we can measure with sand) is replacing the surface sprawl. With the US onshore …

There is a new discussion topic posted in our Thinking Aloud forum today. In it we have seeded the conversation on: E&P outspending (capex vs. cash flow) behavior historically, Considerations for how much of the US onshore rig count surge is self-funded, and Thoughts on how long outspending by US …

In the Permian Basin, horizontal drilling activity is up 101 rigs so far this year. This is more than 2x the next fastest growing play (Eagle Ford +41). In this week’s Infill Thinking rig count update, we get granular on Permian growth. We’ve ranked the counties across the Permian’s basin trifecta …

Is it counterintuitive to view a court ruling against an industry participant’s expansion plans as a good thing? Yes. However, in a niche where oversupply fears have crushed the stocks of publicly traded incumbents, maybe a legal governor on the expansion plans of the few can serve the greater good. …

Each Friday in June, we are passing the keyboard to one of our readers to share perspective from the field. We have handpicked these experts in their fields to share insights on key oilfield trends and debates. Writing in from the east coast of Canada, Jonathan Dunnett kicks off our Fridays …